Slow computer when converting file.

First of all, I'm not entirely sure the problem I'm about to describe is a software or hardware problem so apologies if posting in the wrong forum.

Second of all, I'm fairly certain this is not a malware problem. I have scanned my computer with a couple of programs and nothing malicious was found. I've also run C-cleaner. If nothing works my next step will be to follow the malware-removal instructions, however, I have a feeling the solution might be more simple than that so I wanted to run the problem by you guys first.

Okay, down to business. I couple of months ago I was burning a video-cd in Nero. Nero was converting the file and it was taking forever with the estimated time left just going up and up. I figured it was a problem with the file so I cancelled the project, closed my computer, and went to bed. The next day, my computer was running fine and I have burned several files in Nero without any problems since then.

That is, until a couple of days ago. The problem reappeared and again I noticed it when burning a file in Nero. What's worse, this time the problem haven't gone away. This is how it goes: I start up my computer and everything runs fine. It keeps running fine if I just surf the net in Mozilla, open Word, small stuff like that. But when I try to burn a file, everything goes to hell. It works like clockwork. I start converting the file and it looks good. But after 90 seconds, the estimated time left starts going up, and up, and up. I've tried keeping an eye on the CPU usage and before the problem starts, Nero is using around 45-50% of the CPU. This doesn't change but when the problem starts, other processes start eating up CPU, most notably S24EvMon.exe, services.exe, and jqs.exe. They kinda take turn using the speed, if you know what I mean. Then, if I close Nero, things stay slow, with CPU usage constantly jumping between 0 and 40%, even when everything is closed down and I'm not doing anything.

Also, I should say that this does not seem to be a Nero-specific problem as the same thing happens when trying to convert a file in Roxio.

Well, I've done my best to describe the problem. Any ideas what might be going on?

 

Just an update and a further question. I did some Googling and found out that a computer slowing down when converting a file might be a sign of bad ram. Another sign is the dreaded blue screen which I've gotten 4 or 5 times in the last 4 or 5 monts (approximately anyway). Does that sound like a reasonable explanation given the scenario I described above? Anyone know of I way I can find out for sure?

 

There is a chance that your RAM is failing as you suspect, but it may also be a hard drive problem. So, run a full diagnostic on the RAM; I like using this program to test memory. The download will create a bootable floppy disk, or an ISO image to burn to a CD which you'd then boot to. When the program boots up, press 'T' for the extended tests and run at least 3-4 passes. Be patient. It takes some time. You should also visit you hard drive maker's web site and download their diagnostic application for your hard drive. All the main drive manufacturers have these as free downloads....
Good luck!
:-D

(BTW- it is fairly normal for a PC to bog down during video conversion and burning especially if you have an older system and/or small amounts of RAM, but when the converting/burning is done, things should return to normal)

 

Nope, problem reappears after about 2 minutes of converting the file.

 

Thanks, will give that a try.

I know that it's normal for a computer to slow down during conversion but I've burned 100's discs in the last year without problem. This morning when I tried I just left it on and after 10 minutes the estimated time left was 10+ hours. And that was for a 25 minutes file